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Thursday, December 26, 2013

cheese ball

I just wrote a post on a totally non-Christmas related topic but I can’t bring myself to post it because it feels like a breach of etiquette to talk about something other than evergreens and lights. But here’s the truth: when I came downstairs this morning and squatted by the Christmas tree to plug the lights in, the needles jabbed me rudely in the head and I thought, How many more days till we can take this thing down?

This morning I yelled at the kids to do (or not do) something and I realized, Ooh, I haven’t yelled for thirty-six hours. This feels great! And then I yelled some more, just to get myself back in top yelling shape.

This year, Christmas has felt noticeably bulky. I've been acutely aware of its awkward heft, like a bunch of hours strung together into a tightrope that I’m supposed to get across with three pounds of butter in one hand, a sack of gifts in the other, and a gallon of heavy whipping cream on my head.

Please everyone.
Be happy.
Keep the house clean.
Smile and appreciate.
Pig out.
Spread joy.
Rhapsodize and revel.
Embrace the ones you love.

But sometimes the ones you love step on the rising dinner rolls.

Metaphoric truth-telling facts aside, I did have a good Christmas. Top of the Oh My, Isn’t This Lovely! list was our copycat tablescape which my older daughter made at my request. We even cracked out the iron and pressed the linen tablecloth which used to belong to my husband’s grandfather (I think?), and I dismantled an old piano book for the sheet music place mats (if you’re going to copycat, you might as well go all out). Our Christmas Eve supper of cheeses, fruits, pickles, olives, meats, and eggnog was, according to my younger son, “The best meal in the whole world!” There was a spontaneous art-making session devoid of any sibling squabbles (bliss). And my parents came over for a mid-afternoon dinner and then whiled away the rest of the day eating, playing cards and doing science experiments with the kids, sleeping, washing dishes, and visiting. I knitted by the fire while leisurely visiting with my mother and it was enchanting. The children stuffed themselves on sugar and no one threw up.

When I started this post, I was sipping wine and munching on leftover cheese ball and crackers. (And before that, I was sipping leftover eggnog and munching spiced nuts.) I even mentioned I was doing so in the very beginning of the post, but then I deleted it because that's what I do when I write. I delete almost everything. Anyway, the cheese ball was part of our Christmas Eve supper.

I already had a bunch of cheeses and meats ready to go—mozzarella and prosciutto roll, rosemary and olive oil asiago, soppresatta, smoked Gouda with bacon, nameless hard cheese that resembles Parmesan, cranberry and cinnamon goat cheese (and the kids went wild)—but I decided a cheese ball, though not necessary, would be appropriate. So I made the most basic recipe I could fine and it was delicious and so I’m telling you about it now.

Cheese Ball
From about.com. (I told you it was basic.)

I used a white cheddar cheese because 1) I like the all-white ball effect, and 2) it’s what I had.

Cream together the cheeses. Beat in the onion, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Shape into a ball. (If the mixture is too soft, let it firm up in the fridge for an hour.) Put the nuts in a shallow bowl and roll the ball in the nuts until every inch of cheesy surface is covered. Cover with plastic and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

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There. Now I’ve addressed the Christmas happenings and can move on to non-seasonal postings. Stay tuned!

10 comments:

haha - I like the tone of this post. I'm so done with Christmas, too, and I'm disappointed that I can't put the tree out for collection until January 6. humph.If I have any good Christmas photos to write a post with, I might. They're still on the camera and I haven't stirred myself to upload them. humph again.I love your Christmas Eve supper. I meant to do that when we decorated our tree, but it just turned into popcorn and hot chocolate.

I needed this cheese ball recipe a few days ago....I made one but not thrilled with it. I think it will make a good toasted cheese sandwich :). Mine needed the onion and garlic. That would have helped it have more flavor. It will be there for next year :).

I took our tree down on Dec. 23. So call me Scrooge. It was dropping needles when anyone breathed near it, ok?, and I couldn't stand it anymore. I felt SOOO much better after I'd vacuumed the two inches of poky green things off the floor. Much calmer about the whole Christmas thing.

Ha! Are you disappointed that they're not all cracked and mismatched? (They're from my mother-in-law. She found them somewhere. We have exactly 8 plates, so if there had been one more person at table, it would've been a non-matching meal. Just like we're used to.)

I made your cheese ball for our New Year's party. I've always added bleu cheese/cranberries/bacon/etc., etc. I think yours is the platonic ideal of cheese balls. We loved it. And I'm pretty much sick of holiday food.